Mechanic ripping me off?

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Re: Mechanic ripping me off?

Post by RichardW »

You can check online if it failed the MOT: https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/
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Re: Mechanic ripping me off?

Post by Pug_XUD_KeenAmateur »

yeh, I'd say the job's not been done.

It should looks something like this, nice n clean and quite different to the dirty rusty Link Rod into which it screws.

Found a couple of Google Images to show new & old (old at top)
Attachments
TRE 2.jpeg
TRE.jpg
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Re: Mechanic ripping me off?

Post by courierrelay »

Here's a few pics.

Thanks for the pointers guys
Attachments
037.jpg
036.jpg
034.jpg
033.jpg
032.jpg
031.jpg
029.jpg
027.jpg
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Re: Mechanic ripping me off?

Post by admiral51 »

In the good old days i used to put my cars in for an MOT and they never failed, the paperwork was done after any issues were sorted, saved on the retest fee unless they were major and then i got the failed cert.
Now everything is done on a computer and online the same old rules still apply, there are many out there that will pass a vehicle for an MOT even though it fails, and then do the work needed so it is legit when it taken away.
The whole system needs to be overhauled, how many of us have been told it only just passed on brakes etc etc but how have been told it only just failed ?
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Re: Mechanic ripping me off?

Post by admiral51 »

Just looked at those pictures, if they are from your vehicle then i must admit bugger all has been changed IMHO
Do you have a detailed invoice that shows what work was done ?
If not i would go back and ask for one as you like to keep records of all work done as proof of up keep of the vehicle should you wish to sell it at a later date.
If you have/get a detailed invoice that states they have changed the parts i would go back to them and explain to them that you will be taking it to another garage to get the steering aligned as it is wayward since it has had new parts fitted as you no longer trust them to do the job correctly.
I would then inform them that if the work you have been charged for has not been done you will be taking it up with VOSA, the regulatory body that issues licences to garages to be able to conduct MOT tests.
Last edited by admiral51 on 22 Dec 2018, 18:09, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Mechanic ripping me off?

Post by Hell Razor5543 »

There is a place near to me that only does MOTs. Most of the local garages use them, as they know that the MOT is worth the paper it is printed on, without any bias.
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Re: Mechanic ripping me off?

Post by admiral51 »

Hell Razor5543 wrote: 22 Dec 2018, 17:59 There is a place near to me that only does MOTs. Most of the local garages use them, as they know that the MOT is worth the paper it is printed on, without any bias.


Few and far between these days have you noticed the amount of car sales places that have there own workshops and are able to do MOT's as well ?
My boys new C5 had advisories on the previous MOT about discs being lipped, when he bought it they were lipped and yet no advisories on the new MOT yet they replaced the pads, that was an interesting discussion when i asked why the new pads as it had passed the MOT brake test without issues :twisted:

Thinking about it now way back, maybe 8 or 9 years ago i bought a 1.9td Xantia with a new 12 month MOT and never felt happy with the seat position, as in my Blog it needed welding when i took it for a proper MOT
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Re: Mechanic ripping me off?

Post by van ordinaire »

It's no good asking to see the old bits AFTER you've collcted the car, they will almost certainly have been binned - or so you will be told!

No work (incurring extra cost) should be done without authorsation, but if it has - unless there's a significant amount of money involved - there's really not a lot you can do, because none of the remedies are worth all the time & effort.

Having now read p.2 I remain of the same opinion; while Admiral'sidea/advice (@ 5:51) makes a lot of sense as far as having the allignment done - the rest of it's just a load of grief I foe one simply couldn't be bothered with.

Someone at work took their car in for its MoT and asked them to change the wipers before the test, because he didn't want it on the history - but the garage insisted on failing 1st. Why? sheer bloodymindedness as far as I'm concerned!
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Re: Mechanic ripping me off?

Post by bobins »

How many days between them allegedly doing the work and you taking those photos ? Approximately how many miles as well ?.......... 10 ? 100 ? 1000 ?
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Re: Mechanic ripping me off?

Post by Peter.N. »

I'm very fortunate with my MOT man, he will fail it if necessary but allow me to do the work and take it back for him to check.

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Re: Mechanic ripping me off?

Post by courierrelay »

Took the pics today. MOT done about a week ago.
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Re: Mechanic ripping me off?

Post by Mandrake »

Yep, if the track rod ends have been replaced the adjustment nut on the track arm will still be new and un-rusted, right next to a rusty track arm - not even UK road salt will destroy it and make it look old and rusty in one day! :lol:

However in winter with salted roads it will only take a matter of weeks or maybe a couple of months to render the new track rod "old" and rusty looking. Within a single winter it will be old and rusty looking and blend in with the original parts. So get back there pronto with your concerns before they have a chance to say that it is just fresh corrosion on the new parts.

Also in my opinion if you have left a mobile contact number no garage should be replacing parts without your authorisation when you take a car in for an MOT. Ever! I know the garage I use would not do this. If this had happened to me I would have been livid and demanded immediately to be shown the new and old parts and ask for an explanation of why they thought it was OK to go outside of what I had agreed to bring the car in for. (EG an MOT) And I would not be going back there again.

Edit: Just saw the pics on page two. The threads and nut on the track rod end where it goes through the swivel hub look very rusty - this degree of rust wouldn't happen in a week. Can you take a better close up picture with sharp focus of the thread/nut for the ball joint on both sides of the car ? (like your third picture, but it needs to be a sharp clear picture of the threads and nut below the joint to see the conditions of the thread)
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Re: Mechanic ripping me off?

Post by GiveMeABreak »

It's another reason why I always have an MOT done at one place that I always use and never any mechanical work done with them.

It was a concern with the new stricter MOT rules May 2018 that some unscrupulous garages would now be using that to get more work out of customers by threatening failure. I use ATS and they are right next door to Citroen and know that I usually drop it in there for a pre MOT - but realistically, I've never had any failures apart from the last one with the leaky suspension strut - something ATS wouldn't know the first thing about. They have commented on the ARB that had some slight play in it - but that was only a recommendation for the last 3 years and always passed, which I've had done now anyway.

But every garage I have used has always rang up for an explanation and authorisation of any additional work beforehand.
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Re: Mechanic ripping me off?

Post by Gibbo2286 »

The problem here is that we only have the op's word for what instructions he gave to the mot test station and what the mot tester said afterwards, it's possible he said "Do whatever's necessary to get it through." I've had a lot of customers say that to me.

It's also possible, even likely, that he misheard the description of what had been done and it was something other than 'track rods'.
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Re: Mechanic ripping me off?

Post by myglaren »

I usually say to let me know if a repair is going to be over £100 but otherwise just fix it. Not including the MOT or anything I have asked to be done before submitting it.

Daniel is pretty good at judging what might be needed and the likely costs involved.

The previous MOT places have always been fair and honest too. My Princess failed on a butterfly bush. Tester didn't write a fail certificate, just sent me off to fix it - the one on the other side had been done at ridiculous expense a week before.
I called in to the car bits shop half a mile up the road, obtained the bush and fitted it (dead easy) and returned within the hour. He came out of the office with the pass certificate which was a surprise.
Asked if he wasn't going to run it through again he just laughed and said he knew I wouldn't have returned without fixing it "Besides, I can see the old bush on the back seat"

He was quite strict, especially with brakes and steering but had a lot of common sense and we had known one another for several years.
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